<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>bad dream by bucktrungle</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716110">bad dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucktrungle/pseuds/bucktrungle'>bucktrungle</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Pillow Talk, Short, Trauma, post fe7 and they're married uwu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24716110</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucktrungle/pseuds/bucktrungle</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliwood thought he’d seen the worst of his frequent nightmares, until he has one about the one person he can’t afford to lose.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eliwood/Hector (Fire Emblem)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>bad dream</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The downpour of what must be gallons of rain accompanied by thunder roaring in the skies is ear-deafening. It’s all he hears—loud enough to drown out the muffled cries of war in the distance.</p><p>Eliwood opens his eyes, but it’s too dark to see anything. His eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness, he identifies a sizeable silhouette standing before him. The figure is pitch black, almost like a shadow. Behind them, a large cape flows, and by their side is the shape of what can only be a massive battle axe. The shadow simply stands there waiting, as if guarding something,</p><p>“Hector,” Eliwood mouths quietly, instantly recognising the figure to be his old comrade despite his vague, ghastly appearance.</p><p>Suddenly, another shadowy figure approaches Hector’s silhouette. The second figure raises their arms and Eliwood gasps as he feels his heart drop.</p><p>“HECTOR!” He shouts it, screams it at the top of his lungs, but nothing comes out—his voice is too soft, too feeble to overpower the crashing sounds of the raging thunderstorm.</p><p>The second shadow lowers its arms, and Eliwood is forced to watch in horror as Hector is struck down, his body limply dropping to the ground like a bird shot out of the sky by an arrow. He lays there lifelessly, as his blood starts to colour the grey stone floor a dark crimson.</p><p>Eliwood opens his mouth to scream once more but his voice remains mute, and he tries to move—by the <i>Gods</i> does he try to <i>scream</i> and to <i>move</i>—but his weak, useless body lays still on the cold, wet stone, as if nailed to it.</p><p>There is nothing he can do.</p><p>The growing pool of blood envelops him, and suddenly everything is red and he can’t breathe.</p><p>
  <i>There is nothing you can do.</i>
</p><p>Eliwood gasps for air, but it’s no use.</p><p>
  <i>You couldn’t save even him.</i>
</p><p>Eliwood feels his vision slowly fade from red to black, as his consciousness slips away.</p><p><br/>
</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div><br/><p>Eliwood’s body shoots straight up, gasping for air as if he were a shipwrecked sailor who had just escaped a watery death.</p><p>
  <i>Breathe. Breathe, breathe breathe breathe—</i>
</p><p>Eliwood attempts to regain control of his fast, arrhythmic breathing as he regains consciousness. Only after catching his breath does he realise that he’d been dreaming, as he finds himself sitting up in his bed, covered by white silk sheets that are drenched in cold sweat. </p><p><i>Hector.</i> It’s the first thing—the <i>only</i> thing he can think of right now.</p><p>Without hesitation, Eliwood looks over to his right to find his partner sleeping soundly next to him. His back is turned towards him and he’s mostly covered in sheets, but he’s unmistakably breathing—his torso rhythmically moving up and down, and his steady breaths as audible as ever.</p><p>
  <i>It was fake. It isn’t real.</i>
</p><p>With a prolonged sigh of relief, Eliwood closes his eyes and lets himself fall back onto the bed, folding his shaking hands together as if to send a quick prayer of sheer gratitude to the heavens. <i>Thank the Gods.</i></p><p>Eliwood puts his hand over his heart to help calm himself down. From all the nightmares he’s had—and he’s had them regularly—this was <i>by far</i> the most terrifying one. Certainly, his previous ones had been horrendous enough, but up until now they would only ever plague him with events from his <i>past</i>, about his father and Ninian, and the countless of innocent lives he had taken, mistakes <i>he</i> had made, but <i>this</i>—<i>this</i> was new.</p><p>Never before had he dreamt of an event that hadn’t taken place, yet felt so vivid. The very thought of something like it happening sends an ice-cold shiver throughout his entire body, and he impulsively shakes his head to help banish the dreadful thought.</p><p>But he can’t. The thought is too persistent, and he simply can’t get it out of his head how he was too weak to save the person most important to him in the dream. With his body aging and his health starting to decline as of recent, Eliwood doubts that he could save Hector were something similar to happen in real life. He’d end up just like the other people he wasn’t strong enough to save—just like his father and Ninian and—</p><p>All of a sudden, Eliwood is startled by an inelegant snore escaping Hector’s mouth. It’s enough to shake him out of his harmful train of thoughts, and he instead turns his attention back towards his topic of interest—Hector.</p><p>Eliwood exhales and feels the corners of his mouth curl up in a faint, relieved smile as he realises that in his own charming way, Hector had just reminded him that he’s still here. Eliwood fixates his gaze on him and lets the other man’s rhythmic breathing reassure him once more that everything is fine. Watching that large back move up and down in such a relaxed, peaceful fashion is so comforting to him—hypnotising almost. He allows himself to linger in the moment for a bit.</p><p>Even after everything they’ve been through, Hector is still here. And now more than ever, Eliwood feels so incredibly grateful for him.</p><p>Suddenly overcome with appreciation for the man before him, Eliwood feels his heart swell up. His cold sweat-covered body seems to take control of itself and reaches out to Hector’s, drawn in by the other’s inviting body heat. He presses himself against the strong back he’s grown so familiar with and lets his hands slide down it tenderly, feeling the tough skin, the hardened muscles underneath, the countless scars running through it like crossroads on a map—one that Eliwood knows like the back of his hand. Each and every one of them he’s earned, from ancient scars caused by reckless novice mistakes, to the most recent ones he had obtained in the heat of their final battle.</p><p>This was the back of the person he loved most. The back that had taken so many beatings for his sake.</p><p><i>Thank you</i>, Eliwood mouths silently against Hector’s skin.</p><p>“Hmm,” he hears the Ostian hum in response in a deep, sleep-drunk tone.</p><p>Surprised to hear his partner reply to his whisper—ever since the war had ended, Hector had certainly become more of a sound sleeper—Eliwood admitted to feeling a bit guilty of robbing the marquess of Ostia from his well-deserved rest.</p><p>“Did I wake you, dear?” Eliwood asks, slightly apologetic.</p><p>“Your hands are freezing,” Hector mumbles in reply, as well as something unintelligible about icicles under his breath.</p><p>Eliwood snickers softly in response—he couldn’t help but find his husband’s grumpy attitude in the early hours to be just adorable.</p><p>The bed creaks under his weight as Hector turns his body over to face Eliwood’s, all the while grumbling under his breath. Although Hector doesn’t say anything, Eliwood is familiar enough with his body language to know that it’s his way of inviting him to warm himself up, and Eliwood does so gladly—he instinctively embraces the other man’s chest, seeking his warmth once more. </p><p>Hector remains silent and Eliwood can’t see his face, but as if it’s the natural order of things, he instead feels two strong arms wrap around him, and a big pointy nose poke against his hair, thick beard hairs brushing his forehead.</p><p>Eliwood feels his lips curl up against the other man’s collarbone—aside from his son, Hector is the only person in the world who could lighten up his mood without saying a single word.</p><p>A comfortable moment of silence falls between the two of them as they remain in their positions.</p><p>“Hey Eliwood?” Hector suddenly breaks the silence, and there’s a rare hint of curiosity in his voice—the pitch of which betrays that he’s no longer in his former sleep-drunk state.</p><p>Eliwood replies by simply looking up to face him. He has a puzzled look on his face.</p><p>“Just then, did you…,” Hector begins, but he trails off.</p><p>Eliwood doesn’t say anything, instead planting a gentle kiss on Hector’s bearded jawline as if to encourage him to share what’s on his mind—something the other lord still has trouble with sometimes, as Eliwood knows better than anyone.</p><p>“Did you call out to me?” he continues, and Eliwood’s eyes widen.</p><p>“You heard me,” Eliwood replies softly, surprised that his calls had somehow reached the other man, despite what had happened in the dream.</p><p>Another silence falls between the two of them, this time less comfortable as both of them ponder. Eliwood can tell that Hector is lost in thought, because he feels him absent-mindedly running his fingers through his messy red hair.</p><p>“Was it about me?” Hector asks after a while, and this time, his voice is unusually dim, almost a bit sad. He’s undoubtedly already in the know that Eliwood had had a nightmare—during the past few months since they’ve been sleeping together, he’d been granted enough time to develop a sense for Eliwood’s recurring nightmares almost as much as Eliwood himself.</p><p>Eliwood feels a lump form in his throat, and a muffled “hm” is all he is able to let out in confirmation, as he’s buried his face back into Hector’s chest to help repress the memories of the awful scene that played out before him.</p><p>And without having to explain much further, Eliwood simply feels Hector’s grasp on him tighten.</p><p>“I won’t leave you,” Hector says, and it’s slightly muffled by Eliwood’s hair, but he states it so honestly, so matter-of-factly that Eliwood hears it very clearly, and he believes him.</p><p>Eliwood feels his hands squeeze that back he loves so much even tighter, wishing to be as close as possible to his friend and lover, as if they could just melt together and stay like this forever.</p><p>As he feels himself drift off in the comfort of his beloved’s arms, Eliwood thanks the Gods once more that despite everything that's happened, he’s blessed to have the one man he loves more than anything still with him.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>